Skin-on or Skip It?

Leave it!

This crossed my mind the other night when I was out for a meal at the local Italian place. They do a lovely grilled wild salmon which comes with spinach sauteed in garlic & oil. BUT the salmon fillet automatically comes with the skin removed.

If you think about it, it's the anomaly to have the skin on anything!

Whether you're talking about chicken or salmon, leaving the skin on is the way to go.

* You don't HAVE to eat it. (But I must say, I think it tastes great, when prepared properly!)

Granted, there is nothing remotely appealing about eating wiggly, rubbery skin from a chicken that's been, say, boiled, BUT flip it around and consider my roast, trussed chicken recipe and it's all you can do from eating too much of the crisp, perfectly browned skin.    

• For one thing, buying skinless-boneless chicken breast, for example, is more expensive than buying it still attached to the ribs with the skin intact.
• For another, cooking the same chicken breast with the skin on and bone-in will impart more flavor and render a more tender and moist final product.
• Finally, leaving the skin-on at least leaves you and your dinner guests the option to eat it or not, rather than automatically pre-deciding for them.

Yes, there are certain recipes for which boneless/skinless is appropriate but even in that case, you'll save if you buy the breast intact.

And, yes, the skin contains fat and cholesterol, but these are part of what we need to be eating on the Paleo diet.  Not the skin off an entire chicken, just a little bit off the thigh you happen to be gnawing on!

Buy it whole and use every part (those bones make GREAT stock!) ; it's a shame to waste any food, particularly when it was once an animal!